Staff Insights

Karen Maher, Acting Head of Junior School

'If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.'

— African proverb

In true Radford tradition, our school year has begun with enthusiasm, pace and excitement.

And indeed, it has been my recent experience at the College, and within our community, that in bringing people together to create a collective mindset and achieve a shared goal, the power and value of collaboration is irrefutable and can offer benefits beyond initial expectations and bring so much joy to those involved.

It was Helen Keller who said ‘Alone we can do so little – together we can do so much’.

At the start of the year Junior School staff participated in professional learning sessions, highlighting the many advantages of collaboration. Staff were engaged and felt their opinions were valued, and they enjoyed a feeling of combined contribution to the outcomes achieved. The Secondary School participated in discussions regarding research that promotes students to seek ‘meaningful happiness’ by being part of something larger than themselves.

Welcoming new families and staff to the Radford community is a major focus – with 2019 being predominantly about belonging, connecting and strengthening relationships. It may well be that our real journey isn’t just seeking new learnings, but seeing with new eyes.

We support the belief that engaging people is best achieved by getting them involved – encouraging participation, contribution and shared ideas. Throughout history, great ideas and innovation have been largely the consequence of collective thinking, sharing different perspectives and working ideas further. (Steven Johnson, Where Good Ideas Come From)

Our Secondary students have opportunities to connect with Junior students on a regular basis. These include scheduled assistance in Year 1 and Year 3 literacy sessions, Years 9 and 10 students enthusiastically supporting fortnightly sport sessions, Prefects assisting with special events, and Year 10 students volunteering to support activities in the ELC.

Radford is in the fortunate position of having many students progress from the Junior School into the Secondary School. It is indeed a joy to witness the emotion in the voices of older students as they walk around the Junior School, warmly reflecting on past events, sharing funny stories and recalling happy memories.

The Parents and Friends’ welcome gathering last Friday evening showcased some of the many benefits to experiencing wellbeing and belonging within a community. A walk around the oval gave opportunity to view the interactions at the P&F barbecue, observe the Year 12 Prefects playing dodgeball and cricket and see families picnicking together and later laughing at the funnier moments in the film. This was surely a favourable alternative to streaming movies at home and watching them, often in isolation?

Twenty-three hundred years ago Aristotle concluded that, more than anything else, men and women sought to be happy. Given this seemingly universal desire for happiness, it seems strange that some school curriculums have either ignored or avoided this unfulfilled human need.

At Radford we have identified the value of teaching our students the principles of wellbeing and enabling them to construct more meaningful and fulfilling lives in the process.

In her book Contextual Wellbeing, Positive Schools Initiative founder Dr Helen Street reminds us that we need to move beyond just teaching our students what they must do for their wellbeing – we need to look at how we can shape the social fibre of our school to facilitate this. We must ask ourselves: ‘how can we create a social context that better supports young people’s positive mental health and wellbeing in our school?’ (Street, 2018, p 29).

The suggestion is that creating a positive school culture involves nurturing strong supportive relationships within our school and the social norms and practices of the school guide the attitudes and behaviour within the school so ‘we do things because they are “the norm”, and not because someone tells us that doing something is a great idea’. (Street, 2018, p 89).

‘As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest form of appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.' — John F Kennedy

The Radford Foundation is delighted to announce the financial support of the Boorer Foundation to provide a full six-year scholarship to a student commencing Year 7 at Radford College in 2020.

The scholarship will cover 100% of the Tuition and Capital Levy fees and up to 100% of compulsory College-related costs for six years (Years 7 through 12 inclusive).

The scholarship will be awarded to a student who demonstrates outstanding achievement and community or sporting involvement, but whose personal circumstances prevent them from enrolling at Radford. The recipient will remain anonymous throughout their six years at Radford.

The Boorer Foundation’s Chair, Margaret Hemsley, who has four sons at the College, said she has seen first-hand the benefits of a Radford education and wanted to extend that opportunity to a student who was not yet a part of the community.

'From our own life experience, my husband and I understand the value of a good, and well-rounded, education and the lifetime of opportunity such an education can provide. We are appreciative of the experience our family is enjoying at Radford and believe that, over time, scholarships such as this will change a child’s life whilst strengthening the Radford community as a whole.'

Radford Foundation Chair Jocelyn Martin said the directors were grateful for the Boorer Foundation’s support and they looked forward to awarding the scholarship to a student who would make the most of the opportunity presented to them.

Families and students wishing to apply are initially asked to complete and submit this two-page application form by the closing date of Friday, 31 May 2019.

Shortlisted applicants’ families will then be required to complete a financial statement and verify these statements, as well as provide referees. NB: Only applicants who are short-listed will be asked to complete this financial statement.

The scholarship will be awarded in time for the new student to take their place in the 2020 Year 7 orientation and induction sessions during 2019.

Rev Erin Tuineau

God is always our caregiver, no matter our age

The summer holidays often provide those of us who have children a bit of extra time to reflect on what it means to be a parent. And in these last school holidays, I did quite a bit of reflecting. In fact, I went out a bought Steve Biddulph’s book Raising Boys and now wish I had bought it when my son was born; but I suppose it is better late than never to become more aware of how to better care for our children. I know there is no book on how to be a parent – it’s very much a live and learn sort of experience – but I reckon Biddulph’s book comes pretty close to being the book all parents should have. In July this year I will be having another baby, and if it is a girl, I will definitely be going out to by Biddulph’s other must-have book on raising girls! He is just so good at helping parents understand what our children need, which is often what we spend so much time struggling to work out. I have only got through the first few chapters of my book and have already had a few ‘a-ha’ moments, particularly when he discusses some of the difficulties that boys face at the age of 4–5 (which my son is at the moment).

I also read some of the Reader’s Digest articles that were in the hotel room we were staying in. I found a fascinating quote (which I should have written down but didn’t) that pointed out to parents that we should stop trying to bring up children who are thankful for what we have done for them and start focusing on bringing up our kids so that they, themselves, will one day become a good parent. I found this quote a little confronting as I do get frustrated with my son for not being grateful for what I do for him (and I know I am not alone in this). So, now when I am about to say something to him about being more grateful for the things I have bought for him or the like, I catch myself and consider whether this is really a helpful path to go down, because in the end my hope for him is not that he will just be good to me as he grows up, but that he will learn how to be good to those who are one day placed in his care. I also don’t want to teach him that when we do things for others, we should expect a thank you in return. I want him to be able to give to others unconditionally. I believe we all want this for our children, and their learning how to do this begins with us.

There is also a bible passage that I find myself remembering when I am having a particularly difficult time as a parent: Isaiah 40: 10-11. It talks of God feeding his flock like a shepherd and holding them to his breast and then it says that God will ‘gently lead those that are with young’. When I first read these words, I was a very new mum and was brought to tears as I became so acutely aware that God understood how hard it is to look after our children and that He/She is not there judging us, but is leading us one step at a time as we navigate our way through the somewhat difficult terrain of being a parent. This passage is also a reminder that even when we are parents we still need someone to look after us, which we forget because we get so used to being the caregiver that we completely overlook that we need to be cared for too. God is always our parent, our caregiver, our mother and our father, no matter how young or old we are, and this is why He/She is so aware of how to ‘lead those that are with young’.

As you may already be aware, 2018 represented a significant year in the development of the Secondary School Outdoor Education Program at Radford. Whilst the Year 7 experience remained much the same, Year 8 students took on an Urban Challenge (to Sydney), the Year 9s engaged in a journey-based program in Kangaroo Valley, and the Year 10s ventured further afield with expeditions to Tasmania, Hattah-Kulkyne and Myall Lakes National Parks, and the Mount Arapiles - Grampians region.

Following the completion of all programs, a number of staff joined me in a review of the 2018 Outdoor Education Curriculum. I had also received feedback directly from students, parents, some via the Parents and Friends Association and, also, the Collegians. Whilst this feedback was overwhelmingly positive about our programs, some recurring themes emerged from this process. In particular, a preference was expressed for the ‘peak’ Year 10 experience to be a significant challenge, shared by the cohort (all groups to the same location), comprising a worthwhile journey through a landscape, and located in wilderness closer to Canberra.

In consequent discussions with the Outdoor Education Group (OEG), we examined a range of destinations and timings for the Year 10 Program, going forward; however, we kept coming back to the high country, ‘our’ country, in the Kosciuszko National Park. Consequently, in 2019, the Year 10s will be returning to a landscape with which we are familiar, departing Friday, 25 October and returning Friday, 1 November. The Year 10 camp will operate at basically the same time as the Year 9 camp.

Over the coming months, we will be working closely with OEG to further refine the outcomes of our Outdoor Education Curriculum. All programs in the Secondary School need to have an explicit educational foundation, and this requirement holds true for activities in the ‘outdoor classroom’ as well. Furthermore, as this is a core part of the broader curriculum at Radford, the costs of the Outdoor Education Program have now been integrated within the Compulsory Activities Charge in all year levels.

Staff at Radford are excited about these changes to our Year 10 Program and we hope students and parents are too. OEG will be providing information evenings for parents and students later in the year; these sessions will present an important opportunity to hear about the Year 9 and 10 Programs and have any queries addressed.

Kath Notley, Round Square Coordinator

Expressions of interest are now open for students in Years 10, 11 and 12 wishing to be part of the Radford delegation to the 2019 Round Square International Conference (RSIC2019).

The conference will be held in Indore, India, between 25 September and 8 October 2019 and hosted by Emerald Heights school.

This year's conference theme is: 'Sarvodaya: The change we wish to see'.

The delegation will attend a pre-conference hosted by The Doon School, with a focus on culture, service and adventure. Students will also visit New Delhi and Agra, including a visit to the Taj Mahal.

Radford students will have the opportunity to meet with students from every other Round Square school in the organisation. This is the first time in several years that all delegates will be at the one location at the same time.

By Erin Nurre, Radford Rowing GAP Assistant Coach

An excellent effort from all our rowers

By Erin Nurre, Radford Rowing GAP Assistant Coach

The Radford Rowing team trekked to Penrith at the weekend for the NSW State Championships. For many students, this was a new and valuable experience, rowing down the infamous racecourse at Penrith – the venue of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The weekend drew the participation of nearly 1500 athletes and the attention of thousands of spectators, and the Radford rowing team earned their title as a competitive team in the mix.

To start off racing on Saturday, a combination of Years 9 and 10 girls formed an Under 17 coxed eight and entered the 2000m race as clear underdogs to some big-name rowing programs. Despite only having rowed in the eight a few times, the girls fought through the duration of the race and claimed 5th place, 15 seconds ahead of the next-fastest boat from Canberra Girls Grammar.

Saturday also included several other exciting races. The Radford Senior Quad narrowly missed out on a medal in the A final of the Schoolboy Quad despite clawing back several places in the latter part of the race, whilst Liam Kenneally and Will Gregory raced to the line in the Under 16 double with a photo finish for 6th place.

On Sunday, the racing continued as the day grew hotter. Many small boats were raced, notably with Jacinta Buckman (Year 12) and Noah Sampson (Year 12) each racing their way through 40 individuals and into top 8 in the A-final event. Ethan Toscan (Year 10), Sam Roberts (Year 10), Angus Abbott (Year 10), Tyson Munro (Year 9) and cox Jemima Green (Year 10) kept us on the edge of our seats as they raced to the line, only missing the podium by 0.09 of a second.

Bridget Kelleher-Cole, Sarah Wilford, Georgia Nicholson, Nikita Crabb and Cox Amulya Thumma (all in Year 9) raced into the A Final of the Under 16 coxed Quad, finishing 8th overall. The long day was capped with the final two events clinching Bronze medals: Women’s Schoolgirl Double and the Men’s Coxless Quad. Elisabeth Gregory (Year 11) and Lily Smith-Saarinen (Year 12) raced stroke for stroke with the boat next to them and claimed a well-earned bronze medal. Damien Schroder (Year 11), Noah Sampson (Year 12), Joseph Walker (Year 11) and Samuel Earle (Year 12) cruised down the 2000m course to take home bronze medals as well.

Across the rowing shed, it was a tough but insightful weekend of racing against teams from all over NSW. We look forward to seeing Radford rowers on the start lines of a few more regattas this season, culminating with the Head of the Lake in March and blazing a trail to the Australian Championships in late March. Happy training to all rowers, and thanks to the coaches and parents for making it all happen!

Di Fitzpatrick, Language teacher

Success in the Japan Foundation Short Video Competition

By Dianne Fitzpatrick, Japanese Teacher

Collegian Thomas Martiniello is currently studying Architecture and Japanese at the University of Melbourne. Thomas, who graduated from Radford in 2015, also studied Japanese while here at the College.

Late last year Thomas entered the Japan Foundation Short Video Competition with a group of other students. His group entered the University section and took out the award.

In the video they talked about issues such as: what it is like for a Japanese person working in China due to the similarity between Japanese and Chinese scripts; immigration and multiculturalism in Australia; and living in Malaysia as a Muslim.

Finn Maguire, Y11

Y11 student Finn Maguire reflects on his experience

By Finn Maguire, Year 11

During the summer holidays, I spent five weeks in Hiroshima, Japan.

For the first three weeks I stayed with a host family. They were very caring and cooked amazing food as well as taking me to do things that they thought I would enjoy. When I first arrived in Hiroshima my host brother, Shota, took me on a ferry to the neighbouring island, Ehime, where we stayed with his grandparents for the long weekend. The following week I went to Shota's school, Kure Kosen, and participated in Shota's classes as well as serving as an assistant for the school's English teacher.

The next two weeks were school holidays which we spent going on day trips to various tourist attractions and hanging out with Shota's friends in his home town. After the holidays, I moved into the Kure Kosen dormitory and continued attending school. I was in a dormitory with the other international students. I made some friends with whom I spent the evenings playing basketball or going out for dinner.

During the final long weekend Shota's family generously allowed me to stay with them again. Overall, my trip was a very exciting experience and I hope to be able to see the people there again. Shota and I have begun planning whether he may be able to visit Australia sometime soon.

A note from Dianne Fitzpatrick (Japanese Teacher): After Finn left the school his experience also appeared in the school newsletter in Japan. The Language Department is very grateful for the wonderful way in which Finn was accommodated during his time at Kure Kosen and would particularly like to thank Ms Yuko Uesugi for all her work in organising the exchange in Japan.

The fabulously wealthy Victorian gentleman Phileas Fogg wagers his life's fortune that he can circumnavigate the globe in just eighty days.

Along with his hapless valet Passepartout, he sets out on a dazzling escapade that takes him from the misty alleys of London to the exotic subcontinent and on to the Wild West as they race against the clock on a dizzying succession of trains, steamers, a wind-propelled sledge and an elephant.

Packing in more than fifty unforgettable characters, this imaginative version of Around the World in 80 Days was written for an ensemble cast of eight, but can be performed by a much larger cast … so come along to the audition - the more the merrier!

Auditions - Y7 to Y9 students

Wednesday 27th February 4pm-5.30pm.

Downstairs Music Classroom in the PAC.

Group audition. Come prepared to work as an ensemble.

You will be given a small piece of script and be required to learn it and perform it in front of the group.

Bronwyn Stanbury, Head of Science

A great opportunity for students in Y11 and Y12

2019 Questacon Student Training Program

Questacon will be running the Student Training Program from March to September 2019. This program provides students in Years 11 and 12 with firsthand experience in various roles throughout Questacon, from developing science activities and making public presentations (Science Communication Stream), to facilitating workshops and completing personal design projects (Maker Stream).

Who? Year 11 and 12 students

Why? Successful completion of the Program counts as an ‘R’ unit for Year 12 certificate, students are eligible to be Volunteer Explainers at Questacon, and students receive professional guidance and training from Questacon staff.

How? Contact Mrs Stanbury (Head of Science) for more information, then complete 12 weeks of training, learning and exploration of science communication or design and technology concepts, followed by 40 hours in Questacon galleries as science explainers.

Returning parents – you should already know your Radford Online username – a four or five-digit number followed by @radford.act.edu.au.

New parents – you received your login details, including the four or five-digit number followed by @radford.act.edu.au in your child/ren’s confirmation of enrolment letter.

If you do not know your username, please ring Main Reception on 6162 6200.

If you have not yet made use of the password reset function, your password will be the one automatically generated by the College’s IT Department and already provided to you. Refer to this guide on how to reset your password or click on the reset URL

Once you have successfully logged in to Radford Online, it is important for you to review and update your family details, especially medical information for your child/ren.

1. Click on the tile on the left-hand side of the page that says “Check and update your family information for 2019” (see screenshot above).

2. You will be taken to another page to log in again using the same username and password you used to login to ROL. (see following screenshot).

(Points 3-6 below are illustrated by the screenshot below).

3. You should now be logged in to the "Intro" tab of your family page in Synergetic, the College database. Next to it are the tabs for “Finance” (your College student account) “Interviews” (booking an interview with your child/ren’s teacher or tutor during designated weeks) and “My Details” updating family member details.

4. Below these tabs is a maroon drop-down menu with the names of each parent / caregiver and the child/ren attending Radford College. Below that is a menu with gold-coloured tabs with categories including “Personal”, “Medical’ and “Immunisations & HealthCare”.

5. Click onto the category you want to edit and then click the word “Edit” (right-hand side of the page).

6. It is especially important to update the “Medical’’ category and confirm that the information in the “Immunisations & HealthCare” category is correct. You should also check that parent / caregiver contact details in the "Personal" category are current.

7. To access your child/ren's Timetables and Course Information (Secondary School), click on the grey SEQTA tile on your Radford Online dashboard. You will be taken to the SEQTA Engage platform dashboard (see screenshot below). You will also use SEQTA Engage to access your child/ren's Semester 1 and Semester 2 school reports later in the year.

Danielle White, Director of Movement

Auditions will be held as trial classes during week 3 (18-21 February), at the Radford Studios, details as follows:

Pre Junior Performance Group Year 1 –3: Wednesday 20 February 4.30-5.30pmNeed to be registered in technical styles (such as ballet, jazz, lyrical)

Junior Performance Group Year 4-6: Monday 18 February 5.30-6.30pmNeed to be registered in technical styles (such as ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary)

Senior Performance Group Year 7-12: Monday 18 February 6.30-7.30pmNeed to be registered in technical styles (such as ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary)

Junior Hip Hop Crew Year 3-6: Tuesday 19 February 5.30-6.30pm

Senior Hip Hop Crew Year 7-12: Tuesday 19 February 6.30-7.30pm

All students are welcome and invited to come along. You do not need to pre-register or prepare anything. The class will run as a standard class. Teachers will select students after the class and invitations will be sent out to successful students. Once you have received your invitation, you can register for the group on ROL.